ÆTHELMEARC COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #83
Fridrikr Tomasson, Langstrand Herald

8 November 2004
 
Unto THL Roana d’Evreux and THL Ailis Linne, Cornelian & Garnet Heralds,
Good Greetings! From Fridrikr Tomasson, Langstrand & Sycamore Herald.
 
Herein are my comments on Aethelmearc ILOI # 83, dated 1 November 2004.
 
1. Bran {O’} Labhradha – Name & Device:
 
Argent, semy of oak trees vert, on a pale sable, three goblets argent.
 
Name:
 
Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien), “Dated Names Found in Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names”, cites Bran to 671. She also cites Labraid to 845.  Is this the patronymic form of Labraid?
 
Device:
 
(Old, rusty herald question: )  Am I correct that this cannot be considered simple armory under X.2 because of the strange field treatment?
 
Close to, but clear of, Phillip MacCailean Cruitire an Chuillennaich: Argent, upon a pale endorsed sable a chalice Or. 1 for the field treatment, 1 for the change of number & tincture of the chalice/goblets.
 
Close to, but clear of Teleri Talgellawg  Or, semy of roses gules, on a pale sable three goblets Or. 1 for the field tincture, 1 for the changes to the field treatment.
 
Finally, close to, but clear of Erskine, Earl of Mar and Kelly: Argent, a pale sable.
1 for the field treatment, 1 for the tertiary charges.
 
2. Gwenhwyvar verch Morwyn – New name & Device:
 
Purpure, a chevron ermine between in chief five escallops and in base a dragonfly tergiant argent
 
Name:
 
No problems.
 
Device:
 
No close calls.  Stylistically, it is not a particularly balanced design.  I do not like the five escallops when three would do, but, well, I’m just an old fuddy-duddy J
 
 
3. Mordred d’Avignon – Change of Device:
 
Or, an oak tree blasted conjoined in pale with an oak tree blasted inverted purpure
 
Device:
 
We’re burning the tree at both ends, huh?
 
A questionable call against both  Roana de Laci: (Fieldless) A rowan tree eradicated purpure, and John Claymore: Or, an oak tree eradicated and a chief indented purpure.
 
 
Against the first, I give 1 for the fieldlessness,. Against the second, 1 for the chief.  Since it is a significant weirdness, I believe that we should call a conflict against 1 tree purpure.  I’d return the submitted device for conflicts here.
 
 
4. Nia Katherine Rose of Bannockburn – New Name
 
Name:  Given the disclaimer quoted and lacking any further documentation, the first name, Nia, is unacceptable.
 
Katherine: Chris Laning (SCA: Christian de Holacombe), “Faire Names for English Folk: Late Sixteenth Century English Names”
(http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/christian/fairnames/givennames.html#women) cites Katherine as one of the common given names in the Late 16th century.
 
Rose: Julie Stampnitzky, “Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521-1615”
(http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/parish/surnames.html) cites numerous examples of the surname Rose from the 16th century.
 
Bannockburn: Encyclopedia Brittanica, 15th ed., v. 1, p. 875, cites the Battle of Bannockburn in the 14th century.
 
 
5. Niamh ban Bran {O’} Labhradha – New Name.
 
Old Fuddy-Duddy comment: The online sources are not helping me here.  Barring a better resurce that dates Niamh, I’d be tempted to return it.  I also am having trouble find support for the use of ban in a name.  See # 1 for comments on Bran {O’} Labhradha.
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Rafe Woulson – New Name & Device:
 
Or, a wolf rampant sable within a bordure sable estoily Or.
 
Name:
 
No problems.
 
Device:
 
Pretty.
 
And it appears to be clear of conflict.
 
 
7. Rakel Hrafnsdottir – New Name & Device:
 
Argent, on a bend azure between two ravens close sable, three oak trees argent
 
Name:
 
No problems.
 
Device:
 
I do not believe that this device qualifies as simple armoury under X.2.
 
Close to, but clear of Lancelin of Raven's Nest:  Argent, on a bend azure, between a raven close and a goblet sable, a sword argent. 1 for the partial change of the secondary group, 1 for the multiple changes to the tertiary charges.
 
Rather close to, but probably clear of James le Crane: Or, on a bend azure between two birds striking sable three hearts palewise argent. 1 for the field and 1 (very close) for the change of the posture of the birds. No difference for the tertiary charges as only the type has changed.
 
 


8. Stanislav Hmurovic od Zeborov – New Name & Device:
 
Azure, a reremouse and on a chief argent three card pique sable.
 
Name (warning: this will get wordy):
 
Stanislav: Walraven van Nijmegen (Brian R. Speer) and Arval Benicoeur (Josh Mittleman), Polish Given Names in Nazwiska Polaków, cite Stanislaw as a Polish name of Slavic origin.
 
Hmurovic:  Barring some positive citation for this name (I didn’t find it in Wickenden or “Polish Given Names” or the Czech/Slavic naming resources at St Gabriel), I’m afraid this would have to be dropped.
 
Zeborov: The closest I can come to this is a small city called Zborov, in Ukraine (49.39 N 25.08 E) cited in Britannica Atlas, 1987 ed., p. 78.  I cannot date this to period times. Nor can I state with any surety that Zeborov would be a correct form of this place name.
 
I would return this name because the patronymic Hmurovic is undocumented (of course, this will change if someone documents it J ).
 
I’d suggest to the submitter that he consider dropping Hmurovic or come up with a documented patronymic.  Also the formation of the locative byname appears to be not as it should be to be correct to 15th century usage.  Paul Wickenden, in “Locative Bynames in Medieval Russia” (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/toprus.html) says:
 
The common practice of using Type I locative bynames in the SCA is an outmoded and inaccurate notion of how Russian names are formed. [od Zeborov is this type – FT] Far better are Type II and III forms. Better yet are Type IV locative bynames. The latter are found quite commonly in period and have a much more "Russian flavor" to them. Such a "flavor" may not be immediately identifiable to a non-speaker, but it is identifiable because of the reliance of Types II, III, and IV upon grammatical conventions found in other name elements. The fact that they follow the same patterns makes them a better fit.
Type III and IV forms both gradually evolve into surnames and lose their original purpose of determining a person's home or birthplace. It is naturally hard to declare when exactly this change occurs, but such surnames-based-on-locatives were already quite common by the 16th century. The Type I form, if it ever truly existed as an anthroponym, certainly disappears by this time.
From Wickenden’s article, I cite Zbarazh -- IV: Zbarazhskii. 1633. [RIB II 527]. Ithink that Zborovskii might be a correct form, though I’m not sure how Zborov changes when the suffix is added to it.
 
So, given that by late period the locative byname becomes a surname, I would suggest Stanislav Zborovskii to the submitter.
 
Device:
 
Appears to be clear of conflict.
 
Well, this has been a bit of fun.  I hpe that some of what I’ve written makes sense and is useful.
 
Yours, in service
 
Fridrikr, Langstrand